Monday, 1. September 2008.
It's September already! I wake up first (now that's a novelty!) and get ready before Xana managed to wake up somehow. Her hamster didn't make much noise during the night so we both slept pretty well.
She explains to me how to get on the 17 Mile Drive and we part ways.
That 17 Mile Drive road is something residents of Monterrey, Pacific Grove and Carmel are quite proud of. It's a scenic road that goes through golf fields, next to beaches and through pine groves. The cars are charged a certain amount of money to take that road, while for bicycles it's free.
17 Mile Drive gets me onto Highway 1 and right before the houses make place to some stunning nature I find a mall with a big supermarket and do my daily food shopping.
Four croissants and Nutella with chocolate milk sound like a routine by now. I get myself a melon, a few juices, a package of tofurkey and some fake chicken nuggets for later. And off I go into the pure nature.


The coast, right outside Carmel.


As I said, for hours all I see are cliffs and wild beaches. The view is excellent and I often stop to take photos. There are many so called "vista points" where you can park your car and take a walk, stretch your legs and take some photos. At one of those there is a group of 4 boys, probably about 18 years old and most probably on a summer road trip to Big Sur. One of them sees me from a far, approaches the road and gives me a high five. He yells "You're great. I love you man." which isn't a love declaration but way to express support and encouragement. These random acts of encouragement really mean a lot and help your spirits. I remember the old lady at the rest area near Laytonville a few days ago that walked by and said "I really admire you." Things like that just make you feel good about all this energy spent on pushing your bike.




I may as well be running out of words here.


By 6 pm I finally reach Big Sur, but I feel I should bike some more or tomorrow I won't be able to make it to San Luis Obispo. I take a rest, finally buy some postcards to send to friends and family and ask a ranger about the next camping site. He says it's quite far, some 40+ kilometers to go on a windy road. He suggests me to be careful if I want to continue as I'll be getting there after dark. I decide to keep on going.
The road is constantly going up and down. For the first couple of hours it was fine, but once it got dark it just doesn't feel like fun at all.
Unfortunately, between the Big Sur campground and the next "town" called Lucia (it's on the map like a town, but in reality I think the population count is 10 people - pretty much 1 house and a restaurant/motel) there's nothing at all.


It's getting dark and I still have miles to go.


I'm really tired by the time I get to Lucia. It's been dark for almost two hours and I can't wait to hit the hay. I knock on the door of the restaurant/motel only to hear that they've just hired the last available room. The girl who works there tells me that my best chances are the two campgrounds that are 6 and 10 kilometers away, respectively, so I go for those.
The first campground is closed when I get there. Sure, all the luck is with me today, isn't it? So I get back on the road and get to the second one. This one's open and fortunately has the hikers/bikers option, meaning that it's only going to cost me 5 dollars.
It's extremely difficulty to figure your way around a campground if you get there at night, so I knock on host's trailer and get the directions. The camp is pretty basic. No hot water. No lights in the bathrooms. No showers. Well, when you're paying 5 dollars I guess you can't complain. I set my tent, wash myself with cold water and try to sleep the best I can.